Medium chance of cyclone off the west coast of Africa: NHC

(Reuters) - A tropical wave located about 550 miles (885 km) southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, off the west coast of Africa, has a medium, or 30 percent chance, of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday in its latest update.

The system is producing a large area of cloudiness and thunderstorms, the NHC said.

"Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for additional development of this disturbance over the next several days while it moves generally westward at 10 to 15 miles per hour (16-24 kph)," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

(Reporting by Anupam Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)